Rory McIlroy to lose $3 million for withdrawing from RBC Heritage

Rory McIlroy skipping the RBC Heritage this week is coming at a price.

The World No. 3 golfer will lose $3 million from the PGA Tour over his withdrawal, according to SI.

SI’s Bob Harig says that McIlroy is being penalized by the PGA Tour because this is the second designated event he has missed this season.

The PGA Tour came up with new rules this year that created 12 “designated events,” not including the majors or Players Championship. The purpose was to have the stars play in those events, which would be for greater prize money. The move was a response to the rival LIV Golf league plucking players from the PGA Tour.

The 12 designated events include the: Sentry Tournament of Champions, WM Phoenix Open, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC-Match Play, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship, Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship.

McIlroy already missed the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Each player is allowed to miss one of the 12 designated events, so this marks McIlroy’s second absence from a designated event.

McIlroy received $12 million last year for finishing second in the Player Impact Program, which is a bonus pool of money used to provide additional compensation to some of the more popular golfers as a reward for their contributions to the PGA Tour. According to SI, players received 75 percent of their PIP bonus in January, with the remainder to be paid out at the end of the year after a player meets all the criteria.

This implies that McIlroy was already paid $9 million of his $12 million bonus, so the PGA would then be withholding the remaining amount.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan says he has discretion over the bonuses and could take into account injuries and personal reasons for a player missing multiple events.